Catch-up

I didn't realize how long it's been since I've blogged! February was good. I was able to finish my Bachelor's Degree in Nursing ... it only took 3 months and 3 weeks which should show how busy I have been. I wanted to get it done within the 6-month time frame that Western Governor's sets because then I only had to pay 1 semester of tuition instead of two. I loved being able to work at my own pace and felt that the work I was doing would really benefit me instead of just being busy work. It was a lot of paper-writting and I sharpened my APA skills! I'm glad it's over-with. I always toy with the idea of going to get my Masters but with the Master's only focusing on Education or Management - I really have no desire to do either, so not a lot of motivation to go back now.

For Valentine's day we went bowling as a family. We love having the Megaplex here in Ogden because there are lots of yummy restaurants and things to do. Sophie loved bowling and loved the slippery floor. She was dancing and scooting all around! It was a lot of fun.

The Treehouse had a sale on their membership passes in January, so we got one! It's not quite as fun as Discovery Gateway but it's close and something fun to do. Sophie loves the farm area and the chess set the best. She is such a cutie, I just love her and it's so fun to go and do things with her!

My Grandpa has been very sick. He went to the hospital because he had blood in his urine. They got that taken care of, but then he couldn't maintain his blood pressure without a special (critical) medication called Dopamine. He would turn gray and pass out every time he got up from a laying position, and he wasn't able to get off the medication in the hospital. The staff and nurses were great, but we had a really bad experience with a physician there. He pretty much said that he doesn't care if my Grandpa lives or dies, only that he won't get paid anymore because my Grandpa is on Medicare and he has to go to a nursing home to die. My mom was not ok with that answer and arranged for him to come home with the Dopamine Drip and she and I were able to manage it and wean him off of it completely within a few weeks.

Even though no one under 14 is allowed they made a special exception to let Sophie visit shortly since we weren't sure he would make it home. I had made a DVD with some video's of Sophie and printed Grandpa lots of pictures. It was nice to visit.

He was able to come home with Hospice. An ambulance had to bring him home because any time he'd sit up he'd pass out for minutes. This was a hard adjustment for him, but he was so glad to be home. We spent a lot of time with his. Someone had to be there 24-7. It was a good opportunity for Sophie and I to spend a lot of time there (Sophie even more since my mom is her babysitter when I'm working). My Grandpa LOVES Sophie so much! My grandpa is doing better. We were able to get him off the Dopamine completely and he is able to get up and around with a walker. My mom installed one of those huge walk-in tubs and has altered his house to make it Grandpa-proof. He is now able to stay there independently. We take turns being there each day, help him get into bed, and are able to leave him throughout the night. He has a button he can press that will call my Mom in an emergency, so that's a nice back-up plan. We are so grateful he has done better. It's been hard, and I think he is depressed often about his limited mobility and feels sad about not being able to do all the things he used to do, but he is glad he is at home.

Sophie liked being at Grandpa's house. We had a little portable TV, lots of toys and movies, and markers and crayons. She is so cute. We just love her!

I have been working on losing weight lately. It's been good being able to really be accountable for what I eat and trying to get more exercise. I have been able to do some things as a family too, and being active together like biking, hiking, running, walking, and even doing some workout video's together! Sophie loves it!

Last July 2011 I was my heaviest. That's when i did a bootcamp with my sister and it really jump-started my desire to get healthy. To date, I have lost 41 pounds! I do my calorie counting app, MYFITNESSPAL, and exercise at least 3 times a week. My app calculates how many calories I should eat based on my current measurements and my goal (1.5lb weight loss per week). Right now I am at 1700 calories, so if I go over, it's important I exercise to stay under my goal. It's a really great app, they have the online version too, so if you're looking to lose some weight I suggest it!

March has gone by SOOOO FAST!!!!!! We have really wanted to take advantage of this weather and have spent as much time outside as we can. Sophie loves going for wagon rides, pretending to ride her bike (she can't figure out the coordination of steering and pedaling), going hiking and on the Parkway. We live by a ditch so it's fun to go throw rocks in the water. We are so lucky to have a big yard and Sophie also loves jumping on the trampoline, swinging, and playing outside.

We have also been using our dinosaur pass a lot more too. Sophie gets scared of the dinosaurs that growl, but for the most part she really loves going to look at them. She loves the playground there too, and her favorite thing is the big dino-slide! We went with our friends Whitney and Emery and it was fun to take friends!

I have been helping my mother-in-law with housework lately. I love to clean and am glad I can help her. Recently we went down for pictures. We rode the frontrunner train. Sophie loved it and sat so patiently like such a big girl! I look at her and can't believe how big she is and how sweet of a girl she is! I love spending days off with her doing fun things.

We got some Easter pictures at Garnder Village. We also go to see the ducks in the pond there, it was fun.

There is a nice playground by my in-laws so we went there to play. Sophie found some glasses and thought she was pretty cool. She kept them on almost the entire time (she never does that for me). She loved going on the big slides and playing on the playground!

That night the cousins came to our house for a big sleepover! Sophie learned more about sharing her toys. She pretty much wanted anything she didn't have. Her cousins are very good to understand that she is little and she is learning, so it worked out. We had popcorn, watched movies, played inside, and out! The next morning we got everyone ready and went to church. Everyone had so much fun in Primary!

We all went to the dinosaur park with our cousins and everyone loved playing and seeing the dinosaurs.

That night before they left we spent a few hours outside playing. Sophie is such a daddy's girl and loves being outside. Kale was trying to show her how to hit the baseball. It was super cute. I love Sophie so much. I am so blessed and have such a great little family.

Home Depot

Sophie loves the Home Depot. My mom takes her there when she tends her and she likes running around and checking things out. My mom always gets her a bag of chips or a treat, too, so that's a plus!

Saturday she went to one of the workshop classes for kids. They were making a Valentine's Box. She had a rocky start and was kind of grumpy. She helped construct the box and hammer on her heart. Then she was mad she couldn't get the heart back off. BUT... when it came time to paint, she LOVED it. She had a blast and was so into it! She would stir the paint and loved painting her little box. It was very intense work!

The table was a little too tall for her and she liked it better on the floor.

Sophie is so dang cute. Here she is with her masterpiece!

Happy Valentine's Month!

Updates and Basketball

Not much has been going on around here. Church basketball started this month, and that has been the highlight! Kale gets together with some guys from the area and plays 1-2 times a week. He's been doing this for a few months now and I am so glad! It's his only real 'exercise' and he loves to play. They play at the church sometimes and in a neighbor's gym other times. He is tall and thin, but he can shoot. I always tease him though because I think he is kind of a lazy team-player and doesn't really hustle, ha! I love that boy. He's awesome.

So, the church games are fun because we can actually go watch him play. He has a small but pretty good team of guys. Sophie likes to watch, mostly. I think that the noise turns into an over stimulus for her, but it's fun to go and watch and play. I think I've got her taught not to go running on the court - we talk about not going past the black line and she respects that. She gets close though and I get nervous. Last game I swooped her out of the way just as two men crashed right where she was standing! Its a lot of fun to go watch Daddy!

Last game was a late one. A little background: Sophie likes to lay down and she'll say "night-night" especially when we get all her blankets (She has three). We were at the game and the other gal laid her 6 month old down. So Sophie and her buddy B laid too! It was pretty funny. They were there for probably about 10 minutes, which is a lot of time for a toddler.

Sophie was pretty tolerate of baby R. Usually she doesn't like when babies cry or even get by her. These guys were having long 'gazes' at each other though, and they were smiling and laughing at each other. B is a cute little neighbor boy. Sophie and him have a love-hate relationship. Sometimes they get along really well, but when it comes to sharing, Sophie needs a lot of practice! They were getting a long good, especially since B was nice and shared his fruit-snacks earlier in the game.

I also play. My ward is combined with another ward because of 'lack of interest' and even still I was the ONLY one to show up last game. Luckily the other team had 10 people, so we just split up and played. It was so much fun. Many girls played ball in HS so the game was really good and I loved it. I wore my new heart rate monitor and it registered 800+ calories burnt for the game. Awesome! I love the heart rate monitor I got. I did a bunch of research and consumer reviews trying to find a good balance in quality and price, and finally settled on the Polar FT4 HRM. I wanted a certain color but everywhere I looked it was pretty pricey, and so I finally found some little online store (bodytronics) that had it for $62 (free shipping). I couldn't beat that anywhere.

I got it last week and the game was the first time I have gotten to use it. I love being able to look down and see my heart rate. I am obviously already out of shape because it was pretty high the entire game (like 90% of max) which isn't great, but hopefully I can start working out more. I thought the chest strap would be uncomfortable but I didn't even notice it when I was playing. I totally love it, and can't wait to use it more.

My game didn't go as well, so Kale took Sophie home before the first quarter even ended. I was going to ask for a ride but since no one in my ward showed up, I figured I'd just walk home. There is a large hayfield that separates my neighborhood from the church. It's about a mile walk. I figured I'd just jog home after the game. I didn't plan for the variables: snow/mud on the dirt road around the field, critters, no-light from the small sliver of a moon, and it was a bit chilly (but felt good since I was sweaty). Then my mind started thinking of all the what-ifs: what if a critter got me, what if someone was out there and got me, what if I fell and got hurt and froze to death... Ya know, the typical what-if thoughts. I made it home though, and it really wasn't that bad, I will definitely want a phone and maybe some Mace next time I try that though.

Sophie is getting to be such a big girl. Even though she'll always be my baby, she's just not a baby anymore. She is getting so big. We had a little well-child check a few weeks ago. She is 28lbs (50% percentile), and 37 in (80% percentile). I already shared this on Facebook I think, but here is a super cute video of her playing at the doctor:

Sophie at the Doctor

I am so glad she's gained weight and is up from the 19%! What a relief. She does eat better. We don't see early intervention anymore, it's been about a year since we stopped. She is still really picky and it takes a lot to even try anything new. At least the things she does like are pretty healthy. She loves oatmeal, eggo waffles or homemade waffles, bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, velveeta, french fries, diced peaches, oranges, sliced apples, mandarin oranges, pizza, pepperonis, and yogurt. (Man does she LOVE yogurt). She'll eat an entire box of gogurts if I let her. She also likes the normal snacks: crackers, dried blueberries and craisins, goldfish, and juices and soda (eek!). She is a pretty good water drinker but lately she doesn't want plain water, I have to put a splash of something in there.

She loves to play. She still mostly parallel plays and isn't great at sharing. That's conveniently ok since she is an only child! She does bring things to me though and want me to play with her. It's fun to be able to 'play with toys' again! We like to set up her farm animals and build lego towers. She loves playing with her FP farm, her kitchen, her beauty salon, stuffed animals, her coloring station, bouncy balls, and she LOVES this little potato head she got for Christmas. I am really glad that I have gotten so many great toys at the DI because we can trade them out when she gets bored. I remember finding out I was pregnant and going to the DI at least weekly. I would buy things here and there, and now we have a great collection! I can count how many 'new' toys I have bought on one hand.

I know this statement makes me seem like an awful parents but Sophie loves TV. It has been a lifesaver since I have been in school. We had a netflix free trial which is nice because we can watch stuff anytime. She loves Yo Gabba Gabba probably the most because she is really into doing dances. She also loves to do 'Funny Faces.'

She also likes Wonder Pets and Clifford lately. Sesame street has been a hit, but she definitely has to be in the mood and they are a little longer. Sophie loves baths, too. She'll be in there until she turns into a prune. She likes to float around on her belly and play with her toys. I hate bath toys because they all squirt and eventually get moldy. I've tried cycling them through the dishwasher and emptying them every time, but they still eventually have to be thrown away. She likes that though, because every few months we have new ones to keep her interest. She hates having her hair washed but it gets so messy! I try to do pony tails and hair-dos to get it out of her face, but by the end of the day her hair is wild and doesn't usually stay in. It's getting so long. It's really straight on top and the sides, but the back is curly still! She's pretty good at holding still for me to do fun things, and I am getting better at my french braids.

She is such a Daddy's girl. Lately she has been pretty cuddling and we love it and take advantage of it! I love nothing more than being able to hold her! Kale is such a great dad. He is always willing to play with her and help bath or change her. Since I try to work my shifts in a row, he usually spends weekends with her. Sometimes he gets brave and takes her to McDonald's play-place. She likes it there. He also has taken her to his house before.

Sophie loves to brush her teeth. That has been one thing she has always loved. She lets me brush them really good, then we let her hold all her toothbrushes and she'll go to town. I'm surprised at how coordinated she is at it. A couple months ago we started using fluoride toothpaste since Weber County has no fluoride in their water. I'm pretty sure she swallows most of it, but I try quickly to rinse it out. She is such a good girl, and a good helper!

Sophie still sleeps in a crib. She has not once ever tried to get out of it, and I like being able to 'contain' her at night and for naps. I'm in no rush to trade her out because it works well for us. She is fascinated by her other little friend's toddler beds though, and likes to climb in and out of them. I have a rail to convert it eventually. I am not sure how to make that transition because I just know she'll get out and play. Also, she wakes up pretty early but usually just lays and talks in there, so I know if she could get out she'd be like a tornado in there! We'll probably think about it in the next few months. It can't hurt to try, I just don't want it to be a power-struggle and she still really needs her naps, even though she tries to phase them out some days.

Sophie has the cutest little friend, Anna. Anna is about 9 months older than her, but they actually get along really good. They are a lot alike. Anna is luckily more easy-going about sharing. They are such good little friends. My mom goes over there to help work on projects and to visit when she has Sophie on days I'm working, so they get to hang out a few times a month. It's fun to see them together.

Sophie is really tall. Her poor little pants are floods and we had to skip 2T footed pjs and go right to threes for her long legs! I love buying clothes for her but have to be careful because even though I shop for deals, we get way more than we need sometimes. I think little jeans and stuff are cute, but I know that she's much more comfy in sweatpants and fleece bottoms. I know I am! We have started buying 3T bottoms to help with the length. She still wears 2T tops though. I miss onsies. I get that they would be impossible for potty trained kids, but I feel like I'm always pulling down her shirts. She is wearing a 6 shoe but I think that she'll be in a 7 soon. I hate not knowing if I should size up on her shoes! I'd hate to have her little toes be too squished and wish I knew when her shoes were getting too small. We like tennis shoes that velcro for easy-on-off. I think little sneakers are so cute but having to tie and untie them can be inconvenient (and as you can tell I am all about comfort and convenience).

Kale is really liking his job. He has a lot of extra-responsibilities and does such a good job! He is a really hard worker and they appreciate it there. I love having him work a nice, predictable schedule. Having weekends off is good and he is not as tired when he gets home from work. There are a few of his coworkers out on maternity leave so he's doing even more to help. He was able to go snowboarding last week and had fun. He said he realized he's getting to be an 'old man' though! He really loves snowboarding. I sold my boots and board. It's not that I don't like it but I am not as brave in my 'old age' as I once was and it's such an expensive hobby! He used to take the snowboarding class through the college but now that he's taking a break from school he's really missing it. I got him a pass for Christmas and he went with his sister all day. He is really glad that basketball is one now, and the NBA is one sport I can actually stand to watch with him.

I really love working in the ER. I mean, I knew I would, but I just really like the pace and the variety there. I have been able to get shifts that work with our schedule, which is something I was worried about. That can change at any time but for now it's going good. I love the people I work with down there (at least the ones I know from when I was a tech). I love my Kindle that Kale got me for Christmas. I've ready quite a few books, especially over the Christmas break. With the prime membership you can get them from the library on there, so I have a list of them I want to read. I am really excited because I am almost done with school. I needed 23 credit hours for my Bachelor's of Science in Nursing, and have 21 of the 23 complete! The end is near! This last class is a fieldwork/practicum class so its a little bit more difficult because I have to rely on other's schedules to get the work done. I started Nov. 1, so getting 21 credits done in 2 1/2 months is quite an accomplishment for me. I think this class I'm doing now will take about 4 weeks. That will be great. Right now it doesn't really offer me much advantage at work with pay, but I know now is the best time to get it and it could help me in the future. Luckily my work will reimburse me for my tuition, too, and since I finished under the 6month mark I only pay for one semester (instead of 2-3) so I saved A LOT of money, too. I will be so glad to not have that as a top priority in my life, too. It will be so great to be able to just hang out with Sophie instead of distract her to try and get homework done. Yay!

We have really been enjoying our pass to Discovery Gateway. I am getting the treehouse pass next month too since they are on sale. We still need to utilize our dinosaur park pass more too! I can't wait for spring/summer to come. I loved being able to do more things outside, and hiking with Sophie was one of the highlights. I am debating on getting a Lagoon pass again this summer. We'll have to pay for Sophie now, so that makes the cost go up. She has loved Lagoon though, and it's kind of been a tradition since she was about 9 months old when she started riding rides there! Remember this Video?

Sophie at Lagoon

It's one of my favorites and still makes me laugh so hard! I love that girl. We are so lucky and blessed.

All About Me, A to Z

KATE

Age: 25

Bed size: Queen

Chore that you hate: Dishes

Dogs: Used to have one, miss him often, but don't miss vacuuming daily and the extra care/work he took.

Essential start to your day: Washing my face and brushing my teeth

Favorite color: Purple

Gold or Silver: Silver

Height: 6'1

Instruments you play: Piano, kind of. Can't read music but was really good at memorizing songs.

Job title: Registered Nurse, Mother, Wife

Kids: Sophie!

Live: Utah

Mother’s name: SueAnn

Nicknames: Katester, Kate

Overnight hospital stays: 1. Stayed a night after my ovarian torsion SURGERY when I was 33 weeks pregnant for monitoring. Also stayed two nights after I had Sophie. Does working graveyards count for overnight hospital stays too? Because then I'd have many more to list!

Pet peeves: Slow driving, leaving your cart in the middle of the aisle, leaving the lights and TV on, different handwritings on the patient board at my work, and many more. I am sad to say I have a very low tolerance level for people.

Quote from a movie: Eek, this is my husbands department...

Right or left handed: Right

Siblings: 2

Underwear: Garments

Vegetable you hate: Tomatoes (I think they are technically a fruit), Broccoli

What makes you run late: Having to get others ready, like my child and my big child (husband).

X-Rays you’ve had: Dental X-rays, Chest Xray, and we could count the radiation I get from trauma patients or conscious sedation patients getting bedside X-rays at work.

Yummy food that you make:I love cooking from ourbestbites.com and a few favorites or the Chicken Taquitos and Sweet Mexican-Style Pork.

Zoo animal: Elephant

KALE

Age: 25

Bed size: Queen

Chore that you hate:All of them, especially helping with laundry

Dogs: I love them and want another one. I've had several but my favorite would be my childhood dog, Falcon.

Essential start to your day: A shower

Favorite color: Green

Gold or Silver:Silver

Height: 6'4

Instruments you play: None really. Played in Jr. High Band.

Job title: Pharmacy Technician, Father, Husband

Kids: One, Sophie

Live: Utah

Mother’s name: Sue

Nicknames: None really

Overnight hospital stays: None

Pet peeves: I'm pretty chill. Sometimes customers at work do things to bug me

Quote from a movie: "Milk was a bad choice"

Right or left handed: Right

Siblings:3

Underwear: Garments

Vegetable you hate: All of them, except potatoes and corn, which we all know are starches.

What makes you run late: taking my time in the shower

X-Rays you’ve had: Dental X-rays

Yummy food that you make: Heating up frozen corndogs, Ramen noodles, and boxed Velveeta Shells and Cheese

Zoo animal: The giraffe.

Sophie

Age: 2 years, 4 months

Bed size: Crib

Chore that you hate: getting my hair washed or my bum changed

Dogs: "PUPPA's!" I love them, mostly love looking at them and hearing them bark.

Essential start to your day: Breakfast

Favorite color: Purple

Gold or Silver:Silver

Height: 37"

Instruments you play: I love to play the drums and shake tambourines

Job title: Cutest Toddler Ever.

Kids: None, phew!

Live: Utah

Mother’s name: Katie

Nicknames: Sophs, Baby

Overnight hospital stays: When I was born

Pet peeves:When I don't get what I want, if someone messes up something I've organized

Quote from a movie: "Beaty-Beat-Beat, beaty-beat clap clap"

Right or left handed: Right, I think

Siblings: None

Underwear: Bumgenius diapers

Vegetable you hate: All of them!

What makes you run late: My intolerance for change in routine can sometimes cause a 'tantrum'

X-Rays you’ve had: None

Yummy food that you make: I am really good at mixing and stirring things together

Zoo animal: Oh boy, I LOVE animals. I have a special place in my heart for gorillas.

Discovery Gateway

I took a day off from school and didn't have to work today, so we took advantage of our latest membership to the Discovery Gateway. We had a membership last summer but took a few months off - I just couldn't pass up the deal they were having this month though!

We were going to take frontrunner but we were short in time and wanted to make a little music class thing so we drove. We got there and missed the class by a few minutes, but no big deal - there is plenty to do and we got in the next class. Sophie loves bumble bee with the play balls so we spent some time there, then we went to the water pond. She loves the water! Of course, she had a lot of fun getting wet and splashing around. She was kind of grumpy though, and didn't 'play well with others' that would come on her turf. I love this girl - she is hilarious!

Then we went to the farm place and she rode on the horse, played with some chickens and pretend food, and be-bopped around.

Sophie spent about 15 minutes transferring her food back and forth between baskets! It was hilarious.

We went upstairs to the helicopter, then played with the magnets an big legos. We went back to the bumble-bee and played too. It was so much fun! We spend about 3 hours there (through her nap) and then went to the food court and had some lunch. Then I got out my Boba and packed her around to browse and window-shop. I love baby wearing and it is one of the few times this busy-bouncing toddler holds still and we cuddle! I loved it! Sophie won't fall asleep anywhere but her bed, so of course the ride home was long. She did really good though skipping her nap and we had such a fun day.

We got home and got our snowsuit on and went outside. Last year I don't remember doing much with the snow. I think Sophie was still too little and it gets so cold out there! This year she has admired the snow so I thought it was a perfect opportunity to go out and play while the sun was still out.

Doesn't my little marshmallow look so cute!?

So she hates touching the snow and when she falls she just stays there on her knees, hold out her hands, and calls for me to come help pick her up and dust off her hands. It was kind of funny!

We stayed out for a while but then I was cold, and her poor little nose was red.

We had a fun day, I was glad for a day off to play with my sweet girl!

I have to work tomorrow... BOO!

New Year's Eve

We had a fun day today. It's rare that we both have the day off, so we took advantage of it. We went to the Kangaroo zoo. Sophie loved it. We've been before and it took her a long time to 'warm up' to the idea of it all, but today she had no problem! She ran right in.

Sophie loved the slides. Luckily Kale is 'skinny' enough to go on the bounce-houses too! He had just as much fun as she did.

She loved the 'teeth' on this jungle animal! It had some fun slides and she was such a good climber!

I was so proud of her because she was fearless and so strong. She was able to climb some of these steep ladders for the slides all by herself! What a big girl, she's my little monkey climber!

We had such a blast.

After we headed to layton to eat at Outback, Kale's favorite! It was ok. Sophie was climbing all over the place so we ate fast to get out of there. We went to the mall and Kale picked out a super cool hoodie with his Christmas money. Even thought Sophie missed her nap, she was so good and I had her in the Boba carrier the whole time and we both just LOVE it. I love baby carriers and even though I have a big-girl toddler, it's so comfy cozy.

We're old-folk, so we put Sophie down for bed and we watched a movie and were asleep around 11. I had to work today so we couldn't party too much. :)

I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve!

What Sophie Thinks of Santa

We had a really fun Christmas Breakfast at our church today. Sophie ate almost an entire pancake practically before we could sit down. She loves breakfast food, it is her favorite thing and she is very consistent about eating it (everything else is a struggle and she is one picky toddler). We saw a little program and sang some christmas songs, and then...

Santa! I had an idea of how our visit with Santa would go, and I was right. Just like last-year. Despite Sophie being so "distraught" she was still able to pick out and hold a sucker.

I knew this would happen too. I ended up holding her, while sitting on Santa's lap, while Sophie contemplated grabbing another sucker. We couldn't get a picture with everyone looking.

My mom's work is having a visit with Santa next week, so lets hope it goes better. I'll be at work, but maybe that will be a good thing because Sophie's Grandma has a way with her - she's like a Sophie whisperer!

In other news: School suddenly feels completely overwhelming. Probably because I really hate the class I'm working on now (a research class). I have finished a mandatory WGU class (2 credits), Professional Roles in Nursing (3 credits), and Contemporary nursing issues (4 credits) all in the month of November. I hope that I can keep up the pace despite the stress of the holiday's, financial crap going on right now, my new job and full-time hours, and the normal 'duties' a woman has.

I have been working out really great this week, and except for one day this week I have been under my calories, which is good. I really want to lose 20 more pounds. While my BMI would still be 'overweight' that is my goal and I will feel great if I can get there and maintain for life!

My Christmas shopping and wrapping has been done since about September. It's been nice not to have to stress about that. I just have to throw together a few things for neighbor gifts and wa-la!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Thanksgiving

Well this month is coming to an end. It feels long, and short at the same time. I have finished 9 credit hours just this month and have 14 to go for my BSN. It's been great to work at my own pace (quickly) and I really like my program. I have tried to be really diligent with eating right and try to work out often. I do feel really stressed out about a few things though, but I'm trying hard to stay a float. I have great support and a wonderful hubby who has been helping out so much more at home so I can work on school.

Sophie is getting so big! She has the cutest smile and I love having days off with her. She is such a busy body though and has so much energy. It's hard when I have things I need to get done with school and all she wants to do is play - I feel guilty that I have to turn the TV on and try to distract her so I can get stuff done. I can't wait to be done with my BSN and not have to go to school, EVER again. Sophie is getting so tall. I haven't measured her but she doesn't fit length-wise in her 2T clothes. She is still a skinny gal. She is a horrible eater - she is so picky. I can count on one hand how many things she'll eat. We keep offering and hopefully she'll grow out of that. Feeding a toddler is so stressful sometimes! We have tried to do fun things each week as a family but we've been lacking. This seemed like a busy month!

I picked up some budgeted hours in the ER, on shift a week which will make me full time. I will work two shifts on Peds and one shift in the ER each week. I am so glad to be 'back' in the ER and loved it so much as a tech. I know that it will be really different but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to apply. I am looking forward to training, which starts the second week of December. Peds busy season will be starting in January (RSV season), so I know my life is going to get about ten-times more hectic.

For Thanksgiving Kale and I had a day off, so we decided to make the most of it and go see his family that lives in Rock Springs. We left Wednesday evening and stayed at his Grandma's house. She got Sophie a little surprise - some really fun building blocks and a cute little Zhu-Zhu pet (Sophie LOVES that thing). We hung out there for most of Thanksgiving morning. It is always so much fun to visit. We wish we could make it up there more. Sophie was a good girl considering the house wasn't really 'baby-proof.' She had a few little meltdowns and missed her nap but did good overall. Kale was having some major vertigo (dizziness) thought and couldn't do anything but lay still with his eyes closed. It made the day hard because Sophie required full attention and I had a paper I had to work on. We went to Kale's Uncle and Aunt's house for Thanksgiving dinner. They have a dog, Oscar, who barked full blast at Sophie. Sophie really loves dogs usually but I think all the commotion from everyone and the barking really got to her and she had a hard time. It was getting to difficult to coop her up in one room, since this home also wasn't baby-proof, so we went back to Kale's grandparents to visit before leaving.

Mama's girl!

Luckily we had the iPad which is always something we rely on to help Keep Sophie busy and entertained no matter where we are!

Kale's Grandma told me her dream was to get a family picture. I didn't even plan on it happening, but surprisingly enough EVERYONE was there, including Kale's Uncle from Denver. I am still shocked it worked out so well and am glad we got one, even if it was impromptu and no one matched :)

Kale has really great Grandparent and we are so lucky we get to visit. They love Sophie so much and it's so fun to hang out with them and hear stories about their lives.

We left for home that night. Sophie fell asleep about 30 minutes from home, which never happens. It's a long drive (2 1/2 hrs one way) but she did really good both times. We were glad to be home, unloaded the car and cleaned up, and went to bed! We both worked the next day so we didn't do any black-friday stuff. We don't really 'NEED' anything anyway. Luckily Kale was feeling better. I worked all weekend and had stressful patients. For a brief moment during my weekend my confidence in my ability was shattered and I just didn't want to be a nurse again. Don't worry though, I feel better and am glad to be a nurse and have a great job that lets my schedule be flexible.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

The Month of October

October was such a fun month! I had a great schedule at work, my sweet baby turned two, and there was a lot of fun things we did. Here is a little recap and updated about our lives:

Earlier in the month my mom's work had a party at a pumpkin patch. It was a lot of fun. We had to wait in a long line, but we finally got to go on a way fun hayride. Sophie loved when we started to go and loved the tractor. We were sitting right in the front so we had a great view. We got to the pumpkin patch, and it wasn't as fun anymore. She didn't appreciate getting off the hayride and the dirt/mud was bugging her. She is funny because she loves to pat things. She pats my salt shakers, her Daddy's head, and particular to this story - pumpkins! We had pizza after the hayride back, and we were excited to take back our pumpkins.

Sophie is point to the pizza tent. She loves pizza. I can't think of anything else in the whole wide world she likes more than a big slice of pepperoni!

My mom is a great Grandma and Sophie is so lucky to have her. She helps babysit Sophie since our daycare fiasco. Sophie loves her, sometimes I wonder if she loves her more than she loves me :)

Another fun Halloween activity we did was going to Willard Bay. I've lived here my whole life but haven't ever heard about the Christmas light show they have there. I saw a flyer in a coupon magazine about a Halloween light show. It sounded fun but I didn't think more of it. We were going to go to Black Island Farms because I've heard how much fun it is there, but when the day came, Kale got home later than normal from work and it was FREEZING! I didn't want to pay all the money to go stand in the cold and the dark and not be able to enjoy it. We improvised and I remembered about the Willard Bay activity. It was a lot closer to us, so we got all dressed in our sweaters and blankets, and headed up there. Of course it was FREEZING! My car read somewhere around 34 degrees, eek! I was worried Sophie wouldn't have fun, but she loved it. I had her in my Boba right up against me. I found this awesome toddler pants at the DI with padding in them for warmth, so we dressed her in several layers, a jacket, a hat, and had a huge triple layer fleece blanket. It was still cold. I wore flip flops of course, and my feet were fine, my my hands were freezing. The lights were awesome! I should have thought to take my camera. Kale snapped this with his iPhone. It's not the greatest picture but depicts the efforts I made to keep my baby warm. I had her bundled up like nothing else, only her little face showed! She was quiet and still and I loved being able to cuddle her. We went on the hayride through the lights about 4 times. That's all she wanted to do. We did go through the kiddie-hay bale maze and then decided we were cold enough and they were almost ready to close. They had a lot more fun activities and I can't wait to try it out next year! It was right on the beach of Willard bay. What a fun time we had!

Earlier in the month we went to Lagoon with Kale's parents and nieces. Sophie hasn't been for a while and it showed! Usually she just LOVES Lagoon and I can't ever get her off the rides without a breakdown, but tonight she would cry when I'd put her on one. Until it started that is... then she would love it, but as soon as it stopped she would cry again. It must have just been one of those days for her. I bet it didn't help that it was dark and she had to sit by cousins she only sees once a month or so.

I had my Beco baby carrier which I love because I can slip her in and out of it and not have to pack a purse, stroller, or anything else. I am such an advocate for (proper) baby wearing. If you know of anyone that wants more information, here is a great site with all the types of baby carrying: BABYWEARING BLOG I see so many crummy baby carriers out there and wish I could just inform everyone of other, much more comfortable options!

Sophie loved when we got a snack and was snarffing the fries and trying to sip from people's soda. It's so bad and I promised myself I wouldn't let her have soda pop, but sometimes it's just not worth the fight. She loves it, of course.

Luckily it was a good, fairly warm night and we had a lot of fun. We didn't get to do any Frightmares stuff which was a bummer because honestly I've never been! Maybe next year though. We always get season passes and use them plenty. It's a lot of fun to be able to go, especially since we can take frontrunner there so our trip is virtually free!

Well I talked already about how awesome my mom is. She is a fabulous lady and definitely one of a kind. Now to brag about my Dad. Boy do I LOVE my dad. He is such a gentle giant and such a great Dad. I have so many fun memories of growing up and doing things that he loves like camping, fishing, and horseback riding. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful father. This month he had the opportunity to go on a big hunt. He did really well and got this 210 mule deer! (He's huge so it makes the animal look small, but this thing is huge). I am so proud of him and so happy he got a deer. Keep your eye out because he is going to be on the COVER of Trophy Hunter Magazine! Way to go Dad, you are awesome!

So Ogden has a lack of things to do with little kids that don't cost an arm and a leg (like the treehouse). We have a dinosaur park pass but Sophie is just a bit too small for that. We have gone to the nature center a few times, swimming during the summer, attempted a movie, and done other free things like hiking. Sometimes I wish we had more opportunities like salt lake does (Think natural history museum, discovery gateway, zoo, act). Well I had a coupon and went with my bestie to this really fun bounce house in Ogden that is fairly new. It looked fun, I wish I weighed under 150 lbs so I could go on those things! Apparently we didn't get the memo that if you are under 3 it is the most terrifying place to be. Both Sophie and Emery had complete meltdowns when we tried to put them on or in any of the bounce houses. I thought it was quite comical. Good thing it only cost us $3. By the end of the time, Sophie finally warmed up to one of the places just a little. Emery was quite content roaming the area with her snacks, and didn't appreciate out repeated attempts to put her in the bounce houses.

I plan on taking Sophie there again because I know if she would give it a chance she would like it. It's pretty loud and the bounce houses are huge. Plus I think being 'unstable' on her feet really scares her. It would be good if it was busier so she can see other kids play. There were like a total of 4 people there since we went during the day.

Our Ward had a trunk or treat the Friday before Halloween. It was fun. I worked and got out late so I had to head straight there, so apparently I was a nurse as my costume. My husband didn't dress up, and I was not in the mood to dress Sophie up since we had no impressive ideas and she hates wearing the hood on her piggy costume. I did have a light up Halloween shirt so that should count for something. We had crockpot soups and chili's and it was delicious. The only thing Sophie would eat were these little cornbread muffins. What a cute idea, I am going to have to make some. They were teeny and cute and I think she liked the portability of them. She spent the dinner running up and down the isles, patting and petting all the pumpkins, trying to climb the hay bale decorations, and attempting to stir people's drinks with her spoon. We played some games. Sophie loved the beanbag throw game. Her sweet little babysitter, Erica, who is FABULOUS with her was there. We just love her, she is the best babysitter! Sophie loves her!

Afterwards we went out and went trunk or treating. Sophie wasn't sure what was going on but finally found out that if she looked cute and held out her little pumpkin bag she would get a treat. Then she was on board and just living it up! It was so much fun. My favorite part of the nights as the apple lady. She said "We have the healthy treat, apples" and held out the bowl of apples. It was dark, but Sophs reached in, picked up the apple, examined it and turned it around, then threw it over her shoulder and stormed to the next bowl of 'real' treats. It was hilarious, I still just laugh out loud thinking about it. Luckily the lady thought it was pretty funny too! That little stinker... she just loves sugar. I blame her Daddy since he could live off soda pop, candy, and pizza...

I always feel so rushed and busy in life and sometimes I just want to do something that I actually WANT to do. I had the opportunity this month to work on a lot of little projects I have been bookmarking. I made some Christmas gifts for family, and some things to list on Etsy.com. I love Etsy, it is the best place to get hair bows and little handmade things for Sophie. Also, I have found some REALLY cool things in the vintage section to decorate my house. I got some awesome old books for my mantle, some antique kitchen tools for my front room, and I just LOVE to browse the site. I listed some hair bows and crayon rolls that I was able to make. It was fun to just be able to craft. I have a sewing machine that I just haven't been very comfortable with the troubleshooting parts of sewing, but I'm getting the hang of it. 7th grade Home-Ec is all coming back to me now! Ha. I had Mrs. Taylor and boy could she be mean, but luckily my cross-stitch and serging skills were up to par and she loved me.

So when I found out I was pregnant, I became 'on the look out' for baby things out and about in my travels. It was really great to slowly build my supply of baby items. I had a complete set of my cloth diapers, tons of hand me down and new clothes, and lots and lots of toys! When I was doing a DI run, I found these awesome mega blocks for 5 bucks! There is a huge bag full and then a large mega-block wagon full. Recently I rotated through my toy stash, since Sophie gets bored of the same old toys easily, and she has loved these. She is quite the builder. Kale loves it too. He's like a little kid! He helps to 'stabilize' her creations and helps her build towers and things. It's so cute. I have the best husband, he is such a good Daddy.

This week was a busy week for me. I started school again. I know, what was I thinking!? Unfortunately here a bachelors degree in nursing is nothing all too special. It has no pay increase and really no immediate results. Long term we would need it if my hospital tries to obtain magnet status or if I was interested in a teaching or managerial position (which I'm not). I have been putting it off due to cost of school and time. I always wanted to be able to spend time with my babies when they were little and work on that while they were at school or something. Well, if you don't know this about me, I love a challenge and get bored easily when things are slow in my life. This prompted me in August to look into a BSN program. Despite getting my original two degrees from Weber State, I knew I didn't want to continue any schooling there. I looked at all online programs: there was on from Dixie and one from a University in Idaho. Unfortunately most of those were super competitive and seemed a little lengthy. I have always always been skeptical of the education you get from an online-based school or some of these outrageously expensive schools like Steven's Henager or Phoenix. I ran across Western Governors University and really liked it. The cost was great, and the best part about it is that you can work at your own individual pace. That is a plus for me because I do school marathons. I work really hard on things for hours and hours on end for a few weeks, then when life gets busy I school down a bit until I can pick up again. Some students have been successful enough to get their BSN in 6 months because of this ability. It is fully accredited just like a BYU or Weber State program, and my work does a tuition reimbursement for it. That sealed the deal for me. I applied, got in, and was able to start Nov 1. Once you are accepted you can start the very next month, which is great. I have loved it so far and am pretty much done with 4 credit units of my 23 total that I need in this first week. I aim to complete at least two more classes this month, and then slow down my pace a bit but finish by April. I hope that I can be successful but no big deal if not. If I finish by April, my final tuition cost is only $3700. That is another big incentive.

I should be studying or doing course work now, but instead I took the time to blog :)

I am looking forward to the holidays. It is snowing now and all the leaves are falling off my trees. I love the business of the holidays and the opportunity to spend a lot of time with family. It's always a good excuse to remember how grateful we should all be for what we have!

Dinosaur Park Spooktacular Halloween Party

Yesterday we went to the Dinosaur Park Spooktacular Halloween Event. It was pretty fun. Sophie is afraid of all the dinosaur sounds and the growling though, that was pretty funny! We had a little pig vest so she was a 'piggy' for her costume. The weather was perfect!

They had a Costume Parade with all the kiddos and then a little spook trail. It was fun to walk around but anytime there was any sounds of growling or honking, Sophie wanted to be held. She loved the playground though!

My brother is moving out of our old house so we are looking for renters. It is very cute, in a great location, and a great price. There are two bedrooms, one bathroom, and all the appliances including washer and dryer are included in the rent. There is a pool on site, covered parking, and a storage shed. Please help us find a great renter!